Media Brings Riches, Exacts Price

February 21, 1988|By Doug Bedell, Dallas Morning News.

From the dismal professional and personal tumble suffered by former Texas Rangers pitcher David Clyde, who played at Houston Westchester High School before being thrust into the major-league limelight at age 18, to the drug problems of ex-Cowboys linebacker Thomas ``Hollywood`` Henderson, the examples of how athletes seem to suddenly plummet from grace are myriad.

``If there is one thing that really gets to the successful athletes, it`s the media putting expectations (on them) that nobody could live up to,``

Rotella said. ``The media has a good time selling newspapers, magazines and television by building human beings into gods, then looking for the opportunity to destroy them when they don`t live up (to the image).``

Pilson, for one, believes those kinds of statements are unfair.

``I find fault with this criticism because we in television are very sensitive to the issue of our medium`s infuence on college athletics,`` Pilson said. ``Bear in mind that television, for the most part, mirrors the taste and choice of the American public.``

Nonetheless, many athletic administrators have found a need to protect their flocks.

For example, as a reaction to growing recruiting services that hawk high school football players` credentials, the Southwest Conference recently voted to stop commenting at all about potential players.

``It was getting to be such a recruiting battle as to who was signing the blue chips and who`s No. 1 and all that business,`` said Texas Christian athletic director Frank Windegger. ``The feeling was that we ought to pull back off of that sort of thing.``

In the case of Hempstead high schooler Williams, coach Bob Kinney established firm ground rules to limit contacts with recruiters and press.

Thompson has even isolated his team from NCAA Tournament sites, a practice later nixed by the NCAA, some say, at the behest of the media.

Windegger, a member of the NCAA Division I Men`s Basketball Committee, says the decision was based on purely logistical concerns. But, he asked:

``What built the tournament? The media and the television exposure we`ve had. Now, it`s a $163 million package. And he (Thompson) has sure enjoyed reaping the benefits. It`s a two-way street.``

For his part, Rotella believes individual counseling with athletes may be increasingly necessary.

He also contends locker rooms should be made off-limits to the media for at least 15 minutes after each contest.

``The minute the game ends, you`re supposed to be able to talk and deal with it,`` he said. ``That concerns me as much as anything. You need time to cope, to come to grips with it, to talk openly and honestly and put it back in perspective.``